My fighter profiles have been getting a lot of positive feedback from people, so I appreciate it, and I’ll continue to put them together, but I felt like this series on BJ Penn and Sean Sherk (and, yes, Sherk’s will be out shortly) is one that has to be done, because no two fighters have really danced around each other for so long while remaining so close in level of competition.

There was a time when BJ Penn was considered the most dangerous fighter in the world, pound-for-pound the most frustrating man that you could have standing across the cage.

Even before BJ came into MMA, his skills as a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner were well documented. He was a prodigy in jiu-jitsu and he didn’t come across the name by accident. Penn is a world class submission fighter, and has one of the most incredible, innate abilities for learning the martial arts. Fighters as legendary as Frank Shamrock, who coached him when Penn first turned to MMA, have always been impressed with his ability to learn techniques and put them into practice.

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At UFC 84 we will see a battle of lightweight monsters. In one corner we will see one of the best American Jiu Jitsu practitioners ever in B.J. Penn and in the other we will see one of the best conditioned fighters in the organization. As we get closer and closer to the bout, many are asking does Sean Sherk really deserve to be fighting for the title?

Sean Sherk is a physical specimen in the 155 pound weight division. He is the never get tired and top conditioned athlete that many strive to be like. If the UFC was a body building contest he would not have many competitors. However it is not, and in this game of fighting certain things are illegal.

After his last fight, Sherk tested positive for the steroid Nandrolone Metabolite. Other notable athletes that have also tested positive for Nandrolone are Roger Clemens (not confirmed yet), Sean Merriman, and Kurt Angle. This anabolic steroid naturally appears in the body and it’s one of the most abused steroids taken by athletes and other users. Nandrolone accelerates muscle growth, strength, aggressiveness, and recovery.

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I know that there is plenty going on for the Ultimate Fighting Championship right now, but I think that it’s about time we look ahead (besides, there will be plenty of articles written on Serra vs. St. Pierre, and I’ll talk about the aftermath soon).

Still, I’m willing to look past the Serra vs. St. Pierre matchup because I want to aware that the best matchup the UFC has promised this year is coming, and while there’s been some talk, it’s not getting the credibility it deserves, and part of that is political, and all of it is crap.

If you’re still not aware of which fight I’m talking about, I’m talking about UFC 84’s main event: Sean Sherk vs. BJ Penn. It’s going to be a war, and everybody knows that this is going to a challenge for both fighters, because of how perfectly their skill sets match up.

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It seems like the doping headlines never end. Only months after Royce Gracie was found to have used an illegal substance before his K-1 Hero’s bout with Kazushi Sakuraba, current UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk and recent challenger Hermes Franca both tested positive using urine samples taken before UFC 73.

Franca immediately issued his apology stating that he was forced to use illegal substances to facilitate the healing process of an injured ankle 8 weeks before he was set to face Sherk in the octagon. Franca’s excuse might be the only thing to keep UFC President Dana White from doing anything irrational in regards to the Brazilian’s MMA career in the largest fighting organization.

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Forget about the Ortiz vs. Rashad fight; it ended in a foreseeable draw. Herring vs. Nogueira? It only ended in the typical Herring fashion with a judges decision after three rounds of mostly standup fighting. The Florian fight ended with KenFlo victorious and threatening the rest of the 155 pound weight class while his ridiculously obnoxious corner danced and screamed behind him. The focus of the UFC 73 main card was on the two championship bouts with Middleweight Anderson Silva up against Pancrase champion Nathan Marquardt and Lightweight Sean “The Muscle Shark” Sherk fighting Hermes Franca.

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Well, UFC 72 was your mix of typical Ultimate Fighting Champtionship bouts.

It’s not that the UFC has been giving us terrible cards, it’s just that they have been throwing us the typical Pay Per Views with maybe two big-name matchups and maybe one bout where a belt could change hands. If Dana White wants to retain the claim that the UFC is the biggest name in MMA, we need more big-name fight talks and less UFC President vs. UFC Fighter trashing talking sessions. I’m more interested in hearing more about trash talking regarding Hermes Franca vs. Sean Sherk and Anderson Silva vs. Nathan Marquardt, not Tito Ortiz vs. Dana White.

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